


Merry and Bright

by 1lostone



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempts to be funny by the author., Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Daryl Dixon Pines, Fluff and Humor, Humor, It's mostly wishful thinking but I had fun with it., M/M, Mutual Pining, Rickyl Writers Group, Rickyl Writers' Group Secret Santa 2018, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-09-30 23:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17232785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1lostone/pseuds/1lostone
Summary: Daryl Dixon didn't really get why everyone was always so merry and bright, come Christmastime.





	Merry and Bright

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BugontheRug](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BugontheRug/gifts).



> This is written for bugontherug. I hope you like it! I tried to get everything you asked for, but I couldn't manage the snowed in... 
> 
>  
> 
> _Fanfic or fan art with cozy, holiday rickyl noZA au; fanfic present exchange during ZA; fanfic or fanart snowed in._
> 
> Note- there is technically a tiny spoiler for the end of the midseason finale. I haven't actually seen the last three episodes, and I only found out about this thing by accident. I was going to do this thing, and then found out someone beat me to it. So I did the thing anyway. (er. This note will make much more sense after you read this goofy thing.)

 Daryl didn’t have much time for a lot of extra shit anymore. Some of the bullshit that seemed so important in their old lives was pretty much pointless now, Stuff like birthdays, and holidays, taking in the beauty of a winter wonderland, and hell. Just time to relax with your thoughts and a beer on a cold day.

Of course, someone could argue that Daryl hadn’t really found all that shit important _before_ the world went to hell, either. Why bother? He didn’t care how old he was. He didn’t really have a family that was all that merry and bright when it came to Christmas.  All he’d done was relax with his thoughts, with the only interruption the babble of a TV or radio on low.

But.

_But._

Now that he had a family of sorts, he could sort of understand why people did all that shit. The hassle of finding presents and cooking good things to eat and all that. . . stuff. Doing  something stupid to get someone to smile, or to just take pleasure in someone else’s company. . . well, now? He got it.

Take today for instance.

Carol had wanted to do a celebration. Now, in the four, or maybe five. . . six. . . whatever years Daryl had known Carol, he’d quickly learned that what Carol wanted, Carol generally got. She wasn’t that meek little mouse from yesteryear. When she made a decision, the rest of ‘em found that it was pretty much easier to just go ahead and do whatever she wanted, cuz mustering that energy to fight a  hopeless cause could better be used elsewhere.

Damn, stubborn woman.

Damn, stubborn _clever_ woman. Daryl might have figured a way to get out of it, had it only been Carol. But nooo. Carol had summoned her troops. Saying no to Carol’s big blue eyes was (theoretically) possible. Saying no to Carol’s big blue eyes, and Maggie’s clear bottle-green eyes, and Michonne’s luminous brown eyes, _and_ Carl’s forest  green eyes. . . again. Doable. Not often. Not _easily_ , but doable.

But Judith’s cornflower blue eyes and wobbling lip?  

Not happening.

Daryl Dixon was just not that strong.

Which brought him to his next problem.  Getting a few extra supplies together for a feast took a little bit of time, but it really wasn’t all that hard. Eating so much food at one sitting seemed a little indulgent, but they had all worked hard to get to where they were. Glenn and Eugene had gone on a few extra runs, with Rick and Daryl going on a few more. It was Michonne’s idea of something called a ‘Secret Santa Blind Gift Exchange’ that caused Daryl to panic a little.

Secret Santa? What the fuck was that? For that matter, what was a Blind Gift Exchange?  Daryl hadn’t had much use for the internet back before, but he’d give his . . . second best knife for ten minutes on wikipedia.

Since the internet was out, He went to find Michonne and ask.

“It’s pretty simple,” she had said, a smile in her voice but much too kind to ever laugh openly at him. “You bring a gift and someone draws a name. You grab the gift of that person’s name and open it. The next person has the choice of opening their name draw, or taking yours. Saves us all having to find so many items for the rest, yeah?”

Daryl tilted his head, wrinkling his forehead a little as he thought.

Michonne snorted. “You look like Rick when you do that.”

Daryl immediately felt a small warm feeling in his gut, and hoped that he wasn’t blushing. The problem with having a best friend was that Daryl found that he literally did not want to spend a minute apart from Rick. Maybe it was because they’ve saved each other’s lives so many times that they were pretty much in each other’s pockets all the time. Or maybe because it was due to the fact that they all had each other and that was- for the most part- it. Reliance bred familiarity or some shit like that. But mostly, it was because Daryl couldn’t stop thinking about him, and even worse, those thoughts had taken a decided turn away from the ‘best friend’ territory quite a few years ago. Now, just spending some time with Rick made Daryl inordinately happy.

Daryl just nodded, and tried not to show how baffled he was by the whole deal, and went off to find one present that all of them would enjoy.

 

***~*~*~*~*~*~**

 

Maggie and Glenn had outdone themselves. They’d flat-out refused to let Carol in the kitchen, insisting that she needed a break from all their demands. Carol had gone on a mission with Carl and Judith to find decorations, and it looked. . . even to Daryl’s eye. . . beautiful.

It smelled pine-y, and little white twinkle lights and white candles were their only illumination. A bright red bow tied together several evergreen boughs, giving the whole area a festive look.  

But the food!

They had mashed potatoes and gravy, and two (two!) chickens, deep fried to something illegally-delicious looking.There were green beans and carrots with honey and. AND. Fresh bread and butter. Maggie even hinted about some kind of pie and whipped cream.

Daryl had to adjust his jeans.

So he had a thing for carbs. Sue him.

Finding the cows had really been pretty much the biggest blessing they’d ever had. Now they had six milk-producing cows, three pigs, a mess of chickens, and two goats, and if Rick whistled ‘Farmer in the Dell’ every. single. time. when he went out to take care of the animals, no one minded that the song always got stuck in their heads.

On the table near the dining table were seven presents, and one card that said:

 **❤** **PRESENT FORTHCOMING** **❤**

There was also a small mountain of gifts in a laundry basket that were obviously meant for Jude.

Eugene had even hooked up a record player to a speaker. When asked he’d replied ‘I found some classical greats to put a little joy in your ear.’

Finally it was time to eat, and eat they did. The food was amazing, the company was amazing, and even when ‘Freebird’ started playing (Eugene’s “classical greats”) no one minded too much. In fact, Daryl was just about as content as he’d been for the longest time.

Once the food had been cleared away, and the music had been played through (Eugene had only been able to find  [ an old .45 ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_\(music\)), so they’d listened to Freebird and the flip side Gimmie 3 Steps approximately eight billionty trillion times.), it was time for presents.

“I think Judith should go first.” Carl looked to his sister who smiled back at him, clearly loving this idea. The adults nodded. Everyone had gotten something for Judith, because watching her open up presents was a gift in of itself.

Judith’s eyes widened when she realized that the whole basket was for her. From Daryl she got a whetstone for her knife, from her dad she got a new pair of boots that went up to her knee and would protect her from anything nasty. She immediately put them on. From Carl she got a bunch of drawing supplies- Judith had a real talent for painting and charcoal and all of them had an unspoken agreement to find materials for her whenever they could. From the looks of it, Carl had been collecting these for at least six months to a year. From Glenn and Maggie, Judith got an entire book of stickers and fancy paper to decorate. The paper was the kind that people used to use to make scrapbooks. Daryl’s mom had done that, and had had paper and odds and ends of ribbon and glitter and shit everywhere. The stickers though were of everything. Cute animals, the kind you could scratch and sniff, and kinds with googly eyes. There had to be two hundred stickers there. Judith didn’t get to see them very often, but she was absolutely obsessed with putting stickers on everything. She immediately stuck a bright red heart sticker on her whetstone and beamed at all of them. Daryl tried not to look smug, but he’d long suspected that he was her favorite. From Michonne she got a hunter’s knife, with a grip that would fit her childlike hand. She’d been schooled in using a knife since she was four. None of them had been happy, but her protection was more important than any old-fashioned morality, so they’d made sure she knew how to use it. From Carol she got a bunch of clothes, but they were all miniature versions of Carol’s and Michonne’s more adult badassery wear. With the boots, it was pretty hilarious. From Eugene she got a chemistry set- but not a kid version. The two  immediately put their heads together and started speaking nerd or, rather, Daryl reflected, started discussing different chemical agents. Science had never been his thing, but he was glad of Eugene’s influence. Daryl met Rick’s gaze, only to see that Rick had been watching him watch Judith, an unreadable look on his face.

“Okay. So I’ll pick to see who goes first.” Michonne pushed her braids back and picked up a mason jar with several little sheets of paper in it. She shook it up, then bent and had Judith pick the name. Judith, who was still discussing something about some chemical or other with Eugene, read it.

“Maggie!”

Maggie finished her tea and stood up, grabbing a present.  She opened it, and raised her eyebrows. It was a box full of Tom Clancy and Louis L'Amour novels.  She immediately started flipping through one, seemingly engrossed. Only Daryl say her sneak a glance out of the corner of her eye towards Rick. Daryl bit his lip, keeping his face straight.  Rick’s love of spy and cowboy novels was legendary. The trashier the better- didn’t matter. He’d read them cover to cover.

“Eugene!”

Eugene stood up and walked over to the table, selecting a present as carefully as diffusing a bomb. “I am a fan of Mr. L’Amour, but I think. . . I’ll go with this!” He shook the package carefully, then ripped it open, frowning at finding a bottle of perfume and some sewing, embroidery, crocheting,  and knitting supplies. “No! Wait! I---”

“Nuh huh huh huh, sorry not take backs.  You gotta make a decision and go with it.” Michonne looked slightly smug.

Daryl didn’t know how serious she was- but Eugene apparently thought so. His shoulders drooped, then he visibly gathered himself, forcing some cheer. “I always wanted to knit me some wooly underwear. Guess now’s the time to start.”

Michonne tilted the jar with the names towards Eugene. “Here you can pick the next one.”

Eugene made a huge production of this, fingering each little piece of crumpled up paper carefully before selecting. “It’s Mr. Rick Gr--”

Rick jumped straight up, snatched the books from Maggie, then reached out and scooped up a present and tossed it at her, all in about two seconds. Everyone laughed. “Sorry, Mags. You’re not getting these back.”

“Well. Technically...” Michonne looked from Maggie to Rick, who, realizing what Michonne was implying, clutched the books comically to his chest. He looked at Maggie with what Carol called his ‘puppy dog’ eyes, and Daryl tried not to literally melt into a puddle of want right there in front of god and everybody.

“Naw. I’m good with this.” Maggie opened the gift to reveal some joke and pun books. “Oh! Awesome! I love cheesy puns.”  

Everyone snorted at that. Maggie _loathed_ puns.  

“Glenn!”

Glenn picked a gift up and shook it gently, before smirking at his wife and switching out the gift. He opened the book at random. Daryl met Rick’s gaze with his own and had to work to hide a grin.

“Again! Man. You guys. . .” Maggie opened another present, this time squeaking with happiness at the two bottles of wine and jaw of preserved apple butter. Maggie’s love of apple butter was just about as legendary as Rick’s love of trashy novels.  

Glenn waited until she had finished gloating before slamming the pun book closed. “Hey babe! What did the Confederate soldiers used to eat off of?”

Maggie looked heavenward , as though for guidance.

“Civil ware!”

Everyone groaned. Maggie mimed hitting him over the head with the wine bottle. Glenn laughed and kissed her, the pun book and her jar of apple butter squashed between them.

Daryl couldn’t even find a way to be snarky. Those two just loved each other so much. He had watched them meet, and fall in love, and fight to be together. If he ever shacked up with someone, Daryl wanted them to be like the Rhees.

“Okay, Carl. You pick.” Michonne tilted the jar towards him.

“Carol!”

Carol wasn’t quite as quick as Rick had been, but she grabbed the sewing materials and perfume from Eugene, immediately spraying some on her wrist. “Mmm. hibiscus and roses. Nice.”

Daryl waved his hand in front of his face. “Damn. At least that will save you from the walkers. Ain’t noone gonna smell anything but a flower shop when you wear that.”

Carol flipped him off and Daryl blew her a kiss. She turned and handed Eugene a small package form the table.

Eugene started to open it with a sigh, clearly expecting another dud. Glenn had a very strange look on his face- a little like a man who knew the punchline to a helluva joke and was just barely managing to hold it in.

The Barbie symbol was the first thing Daryl saw, but by Eugene’s reaction of “OH MY GOD” and the way he clutched the present to his chest made Daryl feel as though he’d missed something.

“ SANTA BRUNG ME WALKIE TALKIES.” Eugene ignored the fact that they were shaped like [ giant purple high heeled shoes ](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91UR5JiMuTL._AC_UL320_SR248,320_.jpg) and popped in the batteries. He tossed one to Michonne who used it to tell Rick to pick the next name.

“Michonne.”

Michonne went right for a bright red package. Daryl had the feeling she already knew what was in it. His feeling was confirmed when she opened it and with the extremely fake overacting of an under-under-understudy of a school play, opened the two giant packages of  dark chocolate pecan turtle clusters. “Oh my _gosh_ ! Chocolate!” She then opened the already-opened box and proceed to lick each turtle with a little look on her face that _dared_ someone to take this present from her. Daryl noticed that she left chocolate un-licked, presumably to give to them later, but he also knew that after they’d eaten some of the things they’d eaten to stay alive, none of them would lit a little Michonne saliva keep them from caramel pecan chocolatey goodness if they really wanted them.

She had to sleep sometime.

Still, it was funny enough that everyone had a good laugh. In a day filled with happiness, that was no bad thing.

Michonne’s mouth was full of candy when she shook the can towards Judith, who barely noticed since she was still examining her chemistry set.. Daryl had been so busy watching everyone else, he’d missed that only he and Carl were left.

“Carl can go,” Daryl didn’t much care. Apparently, Carl wasn’t quite as old and mature as he usually seemed and jumped up, having happily and patiently waited his turn.

(He’d also worked his way through most of the leftover mashed potatoes, gravy, and chicken, so Daryl didn’t feel _too_ sorry for him.)

Carl went for the package, leaving the strange card on the table. He opened it to find a set of throwing knives, complete with wrist sheaths.  Daryl raised both eyebrows and looked at Rick, who nodded with a wink as though Daryl was in on the joke.

Daryl immediately told himself to ignore what seeing Rick wink at him did to his blood pressure.

“Gonna take some practice for those,” Rick said, seriously. He was always serious when it came to weapon safety.  Carl nodded, eyes wide with shock. He’d been wanting a pair for _forever_ \- at least since they’d gotten to Alexandria. Ever since he’d seen some Saviors use them, all those years ago. It had been nothing but ‘throwing knives’ this and ‘but did you see the _sheaths_ ’ that. Carl strapped them on his wrist and immediately mimed throwing knives at the candelabra on the mantle of the fireplace.

“I guess you’re last, Daryl.”  Daryl noticed that for some reason, Rick sounded slightly nervous.

“Guess I am.” Daryl stood up and went over to the table. He was so focused on the weird little card that he didn’t notice how quiet everyone got.  The card was heavy, with

 **❤** **PRESENT FORTHCOMING** **❤**

 written on the front.  Daryl raised an eyebrow and flipped it over.

 **❤** **PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR WEAPONS. YES, EVEN THE ONES IN YOUR BOOT, THEN GO TO THE GARAGE.** **❤**

Daryl turned and side eyed the crazy bastards in his family. Everyone verrry carefully didn’t make eye contact. Daryl turned the card back over, staring at the little hearts. It was utterly bizarre. it looked like something a teenager would do for their crush. And he was damn sure no one thought of him that way. 

With a shrug, Daryl took off all of his weapons, figuring if he couldn't trust them by now, then he couldn't trust anyone. he took off the sword he kept in a sheath on his back, and the two knives on his waist, and the two in each boot, and the holster with the Sig. he even removed the garrote he kept around his neck. He ignored someone's snort of laughter as he started to go to the garage, then stopped to take out the derringer he had for 'aw shit' emergencies that he'd kept in the little pocket in his vest, and set it on the table next to his other gun. 

Daryl Dixon had never been a boy scout, but he believed in being prepared. 

Daryl heard some whispering behind him and ignored it, walking down the hallway to the garage. Daryl heard Glenn's too loud, "What did the green grape say to the purple grape? Breathe, you idiot!" and everyone else's groans and laughter, but didn't stop to watch to see if Maggie really did brain her husband with a wine bottle. 

Daryl was surprised to see another note taped to the door. 

**❤STOP. (And don't kill me.) ❤**

Stop and don't ki---

A pair of hands slid around his eyes. Daryl froze, then he realized it was Rick who had stepped so close to him that there was hardly an inch of space between the back of Daryl's body, and the front of Rick's. 

Rick waited a moment, likely to ascertain that Daryl wasn't in fact going to kill him, before hooking his chin over Daryl's shoulder. "This okay?" 

Daryl didn't think he could actually speak on account of all his internal organs collapsing at once, but he did manage to nod. 

"Alright, so you actually have two gifts in the garage. One, well, I'm afraid it's yours whether you want it or not. And the other... well. You'll have to tell me if you want it." Rick's voice was a low rumble behind him and Daryl had to fight a shiver, still not quite certain that he wasn't dreaming.  He nodded. 

"Alright then. I'm gonna move my hands. I need you to open the door, and uh. Kneel." 

Daryl nodded, still too stunned to question. He opened the garage door, a door he'd opened hundreds of times in his life, and kneeled. It felt a little weird, but he was willing to trust Rick just a tiny bit more. He heard Rick go around him, and Rick mutter something under his breath. Daryl waited, trying to prepare himself for whatever. But to his great shock... something attacked him. Daryl's eyes popped open to see a tiny bundle of fur and floppy ears licking his face. The tiny puppy was wagging its tail so hard that it couldn't stand up, and kept falling over. The puppy had a ribbon around its neck and a nametag that said 'Dog'. 

Daryl fell in love for the second time in his life. 

It took him a moment to remember what Rick had said, and with his arm full of squirming puppy, Daryl stood up and looked towards an  _extremely_ nervous-looking Rick Grimes. He took a deep breath. "And what's my other present?" 

Rick actually took his finger and pulled the collar of his shirt away from his neck. With his other hand he pointed up. 

Daryl saw that Rick was standing under the mistletoe. He cocked his head, staring at Rick, and tried to take a moment to get his heart to stop beating its way out of his chest. Feeling more brave than he ever has in his life, Daryl took a step forward, resting his forehead against Rick's.  

"You said I had to tell you if I wanted my second present."  Daryl's throat was a little dry. His own voice came out in a shaky whisper. "What makes you think I wouldn't?" 

Rick's grin was so bright it could have powered a small town. He turned slightly, and their lips met for the first time, chastely brushing against one another's. Daryl knew there'd be time for more later, but this moment was too perfect to rush anything. He kissed Rick back, one kiss after another, each brush of his lips trying to show him how much Rick was loved. 

Not to be outdone, Dog also covered their faces with puppy kisses. 

"Well freakin'  _finally!"_

Daryl and Rick both turned, startled into reaching for weapons that weren't there.  Carl, Michonne, Judith, Eugene, Carol, Maggie, and Glenn all stood, crowded in the doorway, identical looks of ' _aww_ ' on their faces. Rick rolled his eyes hard enough that Daryl was surprised he didn't sprain anything. 

 Daryl shook his head and kissed Rick again, his heart full and excited to see what the year would bring. 

 

 

* * *

 

Glenn’s puns are from Ellie’s book in The Last of Us. :D


End file.
